Parabolic lighting louvers have been in use for a considerable time in overhead light fixtures for controlling light emission from incandescent and fluorescent lights. Louvers are used to reflect light through specific angles to reduce glare and evenly disperse light throughout a given area.
The typical light louver is constructed of light sheet metal, typically aluminum, that is shaped in parabolic curves and set into grid configurations. The sheet material must be processed through several expensive and time-consuming forming and assembly steps to produce each louver. Firstly, the sheet material is stamped or otherwise cut into specific shapes. Next the cut shapes are bent or otherwise formed into the desired parabolic configurations. Then the formed parabolic elements are swaged or otherwise connected together in a desired pattern before being placed in a frame.
Even with automated equipment, the process for forming lighting louvers is time consuming and expensive. A long-felt need has thus been realized for a system by which lighting louvers may be produced at a lower cost.
One approach to fill the above need has been development of plastic louvers made by injection molding. The louver configuration is cut into a plastic injection mold so the entire louver may be formed in one step by injecting molten plastic into the mold. This is an improvement in reducing the number of steps required for actual production of louvers, but has several drawbacks. Firstly, there is a constant need for various louver sizes. Production of a new mold for each new order of a different louver size is not economically feasible, especially for short run production. Material selection is limited to those plastics that lend themselves well to injection molding. Further, a plastic injection molded louver will not have an appropriately reflective surface and must be either plated or otherwise coated with a reflective material, thereby further increasing cost and increasing production time.
A need has therefore remained for lighting louver production that is low in cost, both for set-up and production. The present invention, as will be understood from the following description, fills this long-felt need and has for objectives, providing a louver forming process in which expensive molds are not required, and in which sheet material that has been previously coated with reflective material may be used, thereby eliminating the need to coat the finished louvers.